This bill establishes a federally funded program to build and operate facilities for rearing and releasing sterile New World screwworm flies to control infestations in at-risk agricultural areas.
John Cornyn
Senator
TX
The STOP Screwworms Act authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to establish and operate facilities for rearing and releasing sterile New World screwworm flies to control infestations. This legislation dedicates $300 million to build these modular rearing facilities in at-risk areas and mandates annual public reporting on the threat level and control efforts. The goal is to actively combat the spread of screwworm flies threatening U.S. agriculture.
STOP Screwworms Act Funds $300M Effort to Build Fly-Rearing Facilities for Livestock Protection
The newly proposed Strengthening Tactics to Obstruct the Population of Screwworms Act, or the STOP Screwworms Act, is essentially a major federal investment in insect birth control—specifically targeting the New World screwworm fly. If passed, this bill authorizes $300 million to be spent on building and running specialized facilities designed to raise and release sterile screwworm flies. The goal is to use this sterile insect technique (SIT) to crash the wild screwworm population, protecting U.S. livestock and agriculture.
The $300 Million Fly Factory
This isn't small potatoes. The bill authorizes a whopping $300,000,000 for the Secretary of Agriculture to get this operation running, and the money doesn't expire until it's spent. Within 180 days of the law taking effect, the Secretary must begin building one or more modular facilities. These aren't just labs; they are full-scale fly factories responsible for rearing the sterile flies and then ensuring their effective dispersal into at-risk areas. The New World screwworm fly is a serious pest whose larvae infest the wounds of warm-blooded animals, including livestock, leading to severe economic losses for ranchers and farmers. This bill is a direct, proactive defense against that threat.
Who Decides Where the Flies Go?
One key detail is the Secretary’s authority to choose the locations. The bill states that an "eligible area" is any part of a state the Secretary believes is at risk of infestation. The location chosen must also be "suitable for effectively dispersing the sterile flies" to other nearby danger zones (SEC. 2). This gives the Department of Agriculture wide discretion. While this flexibility is necessary to respond quickly to outbreaks, it also means the decision on where to build these potentially large, specialized government facilities rests solely with the Secretary. For folks living in rural areas, this means a new federal facility could be coming to a location near them, and the rationale for that choice might be based on broad risk assessments rather than local input.
Protecting the Herd and Your Wallet
For the average person, this bill translates to better protection for the food supply chain. When livestock is threatened by pests like the screwworm, the costs associated with treating or losing animals eventually trickle down to consumers. By funding this control effort, the government is essentially investing in preventative care for the agriculture industry. Furthermore, the bill mandates transparency: the Secretary must issue an annual, publicly available report to Congress detailing the current threat level of the screwworm and how effective the new facilities and dispersal efforts have been (SEC. 2). This means taxpayers get an annual update on what their $300 million investment is actually accomplishing on the ground.